Grenade lobbed at Hurriyat's office in Srinagar

Unidentified persons on Monday afternoon hurled a hand grenade at the office of the separatist All Parties Hurriyat Conference in Rajbagh in Srinagar injuring three of the Hurriyat's activists.

The grenade landed in the lawn in the premises, police sources said.

The injured persons were shifted to a hospital, the sources said.

At the time of the attack, the APHC's General Council was discussing the Centre's offer of peace talks.

The attack came in the wake of reported differences among various constituents of the APHC on holding parleys with New Delhi's negotiator K C Pant.

The grenade, after hitting the building, fell in the lawn of the Hurriyat office and exploded causing injuries to four persons, including three office bearers of the Awami Action Committee headed by Mirwaiz Moulvi Umar Farooq. AAC is a constituent of the APHC.

"We strongly condemn it. The injured are undergoing treatment in a hospital and the condition of one is serious," Sheikh Abdul Rashid, chief spokesman of the Hurriyat told rediff.com.

After Monday's general council meeting, the Hurriyat executive is meeting later this week to take a final decision whether or not to initiate a dialogue with Pant.

PTI adds: Hurriyat Conference cannot be
bogged down by grenade attacks nor will the designs of some
vested interests be allowed to succeed, its chairman Prof
Abdul Gani Bhat said about the attack on the HC's headquarters.

"We will not be bogged down by such acts. The designs of
some vested interests will not be allowed to succeed", Bhat
told reporters after coming out of the meeting, at the
headquarters.

However, he said, he could not say who was behind this
attack as he would have to look into the matter first.

Bhat said the meeting (General Council) will continue as
per schedule.